Hurricane Helene is now one of the deadliest storms this century. As of this morning, 137 people are dead, hundreds are missing, and entire communities have been wiped off the map. SURJ works deeply in Appalachia, and we are both proud of the community responses to care for people—and devastated by the scale of loss across the Southeastern US.
Watch our public solidarity call with communities affected by the storm. Our webinar featured a conversation with SURJ organizers on the ground in Western North Carolina, as well as Appalachian political commentator John Russell and Rev. Allyn Maxfield-Steele in Asheville.
On the call, we made meaning of this moment and gave calls to action to help get immediate relief to affected communities AND to organize to affect long-term structural change. We know that the ramifications of “natural” disasters are not natural but exacerbated by climate change and underfunded community infrastructure. Systematically marginalized people– people of color, poor people, rural people, immigrants– are bearing the brunt of these disasters.
Join us in supporting groups offering aid and organizing on the ground:
- Organizing Resilience– supporting local groups doing mutual aid and organizing
- Eastern TN (TN resident will be hearing from us in the coming days about joining local recovery efforts)
Watch our webinar, and check out SURJ social media pages for ongoing current information about taking action to support affected communities.
